GMB Birmingham & West Midlands Region

GMB WELCOMES CONTINUED INVESTMENT IN BIRMINGHAM CROSSING WARDENS

Friday, August 26, 2016

GMB WELCOMES CONTINUED INVESTMENT IN BIRMINGHAM CROSSING WARDENS

It is imperative that we do not let the issue of school safety be kicked into the long grass says GMB

GMB, Britain’s general union, has welcomed an announcement from Birmingham City Council that it will continue its provision of crossing wardens, investing £750,000 annually in the service for 2 years from 2017/18 onwards.

The council also announced proposals to create a new charitable trust to improve school children’s travel to and from school in the city.

Gill Whittaker said: “GMB cautiously welcomes the announcement securing the funding for a further 2 years for this very low paid hard working workforce that ensures the safety of Birmingham’s children going forward.

However the council has pushed forward with this announcement without properly discussing how the money will be distributed with the recognised trade unions. The council has said that schools will be able to apply for up to £1000 of this funding to look at safety measures but we know the cost of a school crossing warden is in excess of this by about 5 times this amount. The council has also said that it is looking at introducing speed limits of 20 mph around schools but has not what additional measures will be put in place to enforce the new restrictions.

Whilst any announcement of funding is welcome, the council needs to sit down with the trade unions to work through how this money is going to spent in the most appropriate manner and not just giving it away to whoever may apply as we need to ensure that the school cost for patrols are secured for much longer than 2 years.

GMB further considers that it is imperative that we do not let this issue of school crossing wardens be kicked into the long grass and that the Government provides appropriate funding across all local authorities to secure this vital service for the safety of children everywhere.

GMB will continue to work with Birmingham City Council to fulfil this aim.”